Many small business owners took a hit when coronavirus shut down the world, and food artists certainly were one of them.
Orders vanished for giant sculptures of butter, chocolate or cheese, while entertainment and festivals were put on hold.
There’s no New York State Fair this year due to Covid-19, but food sculptors Jim Victor and Marie Pelton returned to Syracuse to create one time-honored tradition that coronavirus can’t touch: the iconic butter sculpture.
“This is the first food sculpture we’ve been able to do since February, so we’re so grateful to the fair for bringing us back,” said Victor, who with his wife Pelton, has sculpted a butter masterpiece every year at the fair since 2003.
The American Dairy Association North East will unveil their butter sculpture this year on Facebook. The dairy artwork will become public at 10 a.m. Sept. 1 on American Dairy Association North East’s Facebook page.
The New York State Fair will also sponsor a butter sculpture contest for 2020. Participants can make a sculpture using up to five pounds of butter, sculpting wire, chicken wire and a base for stability.
So Victor and Pelton demonstrated how to make your own butter sculpture at home (see video).
They say spoons, forks and butter knives are all you need to carve butter. Popsicle sticks work well too. Other household items can create texture and designs (consider an old comb to make grass, for example).
Professional butter sculptors carve their creations in a refrigerated case, but it can be tricky to work with butter at room temperature, even if it starts off cold.
“If your butter is getting too soft, put it right back in the refrigerator and you can moderate that,” said Pelton.
Contest participants can submit picture of their sculpture at the contest site on the fair’s Facebook page by Sept. 4. Sculptures must be “family-friendly and non-political.” Participants cannot use food coloring or other methods to change the color of the butter.
The grand prize winner receives a lifetime admission medal to the fair, along with eight passes for the 2021 fair, a $25 Wegmans gift card, and a prize pack from 93Q. There are prizes for second through fifth-place winners too.
After the unveiling, the “scrap butter” used for the 2020 sculpture (unsuitable for sale or eating) will be transported to a local dairy farm where it will be recycled in a methane digester to create electricity.
Just because the 2020 State Fair is canceled this year doesn’t mean you still can’t have the Fair experience. Make your own butter sculpture.Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com
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